The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) said it has conducted a "very significant" test at its Sohae space satellite launch site, Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported on Sunday. 

The report did not specify what was tested, but the site has previously been used to launch rockets into space as well as test missile engines.  

There was no immediate comment from the Republic of Korea (ROK) military, which usually issues alerts if a missile is seen launching from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK).  

The reported test comes as the DPRK's UN ambassador, Kim Song, said Saturday that denuclearization has "already gone out of the negotiation table" and it does not need to have lengthy talks with the United States 

Analysts have said the site has never before been used to launch an intercontinental ballistic missile, but it has been used to test missile engines and past satellite launches have helped scuttle talks with the U.S.  

U.S. President Donald Trump told reporters in June 2018 after his first summit with DPRK leader Kim Jong Un that the DPRK had pledged to dismantle one of its missile installations, which U.S. officials later identified as Sohae. 

The U.S. president sought to play down a recent surge in tensions with the DPRK, stressing what he said was his good relationship with its leader, Kim Jong Un, and saying he thought Kim wanted a deal, not to interfere in next year's U.S. presidential election. 

"We'll see about North Korea (DPRK). I'd be surprised if North Korea (DPRK) acted hostilely," Trump told reporters at the White House before leaving for Florida on Saturday. 

"He knows I have an election coming up. I don't think he wants to interfere with that, but we'll have to see ... I think he'd like to see something happen. The relationship is very good, but you know, there is certain hostility, there's no question about it."

Deadline ahead

The latest test comes as Pyongyang is ramping up pressure ahead of its end-of-year deadline for the U.S. to propose a new offer to kick-start stalled nuclear talks.

Meanwhile, the DPRK is also preparing a rare meeting of the ruling party's top leaders, which would be held sometime in late December.

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In a series of statements in recent weeks, senior DPRK officials have warned the U.S. not to ignore the deadline, and called Washington's offer of more talks a stalling tactic ahead of next year's U.S. election, otherwise the country could seek a "new path" next year. 

On Thursday, the DPRK's vice foreign minister warned of returning to a war of words with the U.S., threatening to resume referring to Trump as a "dotard" – Pyongyang's nickname for the U.S. leader at the height of tensions in 2017.

The comments came a day after it warned that if the U.S. used military force against the DPRK, it would take "prompt corresponding actions at any level."

At the recent NATO summit, Trump boasted about Washington's "most powerful military," adding: "Hopefully, we don't have to use it, but if we do, we'll use it. If we have to, we'll do it."

Trump and ROK President Moon Jae-in just held a half-hour phone discussion on ways to maintain diplomacy with the DPRK on Saturday, with both sides agreed that the situation has become "severe."

(With input from agencies)